It's not a terribly frightening movie. Probably made on the quick to capitalize on the Dracula craze. I like the performance of the Renfield-type character, he is quite odd.

But once you see who-dunnit the film becomes much less interesting.

A spooky old European village gripped by fear. Mysterious murders with the victims drained of blood. Dwight Frye as the bat loving village weirdo. If all this wasn't enough, add a solid cast that includes Lionel Atwill, Melvin Douglas and Fay Wray (as a brunette). This is a vampire movie, but not the kind you think. Discovering what kind of evil ghoul is at work is half the fun in watching this atmospheric little thriller. A minor distraction is the overuse of comic relief supplied by Maude Eburne. Nevertheless "The Vampire Bat" is a horror quickie that honestly earns its four stars. This print is in good shape for it's age. Unfortunately five minutes are missing that could be the result of one of those damn TV edits. A complete restored and copyrighted version exists. FOOTNOTE: a.k.a. "Blood Sucker" and "Forced to Sin"